Rangers were kept waiting by Dundee United but couldn’t produce a late show as under-pressure Philippe Clement watched his side spill points again.
The Tannadice side set off for Ibrox early, leaving Tayside at 9.30am as Storm Bert blanketed the central belt in snow. But that wasn’t enough to get the Arabs to Govan on time as a jackknifed lorry snared the United team bus up on the gridlocked motorways. Kick-off was delayed by 55 minutes but the delay didn’t do much to disrupt Jim Goodwin’s team, who struck first through Sam Dalby’s first-half header.
Gers salvaged a draw with Vaclav Cerny levelled midway through the second period – but that was only enough to trim a point back on Aberdeen – who lost their unbeaten record in Paisley.
Clement’s side might now be eight points behind the Dons, but the risk falling 11 behind Celtic if the Hoops can win at Tynecastle tonight. Gers made two changes to the team that nervously edged past Hearts last time out, with skipper James Tavernier and Leon Balogun dropping out as Dujon Sterling and Robbin Propper returned.
The United team that finally battled its way through the snow also had to alterations to the line-up that swept Ross County away before the international break, with Kai Fotheringham and Glenn Middleton in for Emmanuel Adegboyega and Jort van der Sande. Gers might have bossed the possession stakes early on but they didn’t exactly do much with it.
Cerny and Nico Raskin had strikes from distance pushed away by keeper Jack Walton. The hosts’ best chance came just before the half hour mark – and all thanks to a heavy touch from Propper.
That forced the defender to charge forward and play in Bajrami. The Albanian international moved inside to shoot, with his goal-bound effort brilliantly tipped away by Walton. But all Rangers’ toothlessness in attack served to do was encourage United to have a go themselves.
And they soon showed Clement’s team how to do it. John Souttar was the hero for Scotland with a superb assist for Andy Robertson. But he and Propper were posted missing as Tangerines stopper Vicko Sevelj fired in a ball every bit as tasty.
Dalby will have struggled to believe his luck as the unmarked United ace enjoyed the freedom of Ibrox to head past the grounded Jack Butland.
The goal had a predictably toxic effect on an already sullen atmosphere around Ibrox. The pressure bearing down from the stands was reaching suffocation levels for Clement and his players.
But instead of mounting a late response before the break, the hosts had to be bailed out from losing a second as John Souttar threw himself in the way of a Kai Fotheringham effort.
Tannadice gaffer Goodwin was booked for protesting Don Robertson’s decision to hand Gers a free-kick – but the Irishman needn’t have worried as his side survived a late scare before the whistle blew for half-time.
Propper had the ball in the net but it was chalked off for a Connor Barron handball in the build-up. There was no surprise when the hosts were booed off by their furious fans.
Clement tried to win them back over as he replaced the seriously unimpressive pair of Mohamed Diomande and Cyriel Dessers with Ianis Hagi and Danilo. Rangers almost grabbed one back within seconds of the restart as Souttar’s shot crashed into the side netting.
Hagi was providing the spark Gers were crying out for – but Danilo was no sharper than Dessers as the Brazilian dragged horribly wide from a perfect Cerny cut-back.
Clement’s men were at last applying some sustained pressure as Cerny rifled just wide. And it was the Czech ace who dragged them level on 66 minutes. Danilo’s touch was tighter as he returned a smart 1-2 to the winger, with the on-loan Wolfsburg wideman making no mistake as he slotted under Walton.
United were having to resort to stalling tactics to halt Rangers’ increasing momentum, with three players hitting the deck looking for treatment when Danilo forced another save from Walton.
Cerny netted again but this time he was a mile offside. With the clock ticking down, the tension was rising in the home end.
Ibrox held its breath as Hagi’s long-range effort was parried by Walton – but both Danilo and fellow sub Hamza Igamane were foiled in a desperate scramble for the follow-up. The Light Blues had one last go during eight-minutes of stoppage time but Walton was the hero with a huge save from Igamane.
United delayed but delighted
United insisted they had taken Storm Bert into consideration as they set-off early morning for Ibrox. But the perilous conditions still ended up causing problems with the scheduled kick-off time.
What was supposed go be a three-quarter of an hour delay in fact turned out to be a 55-minute hold-up before the game got underway. United had wanted even longer to get themselves ready but that request was refused.
But it mattered not a jot as Dalby’s opener handed them the lead. The Terrors looked determined to string the game out even longer than necessary as they stalled for time at every opportunity. In the end, it was a tactic that worked as they held out through eight nervy minutes of stoppage time to earn a deserved draw.
Fans fume at Phil
Philippe Clement warned Jim Goodwin he had only motivated his men with his pre-match comments about exposing the “nervous tension” around Ibrox. But it didn’t look like that as the laboured Light Blues went through the motions during yet another dismal first-half.
The Belgian boss had insisted his men could not afford to switch off like they had after a bright start against Hearts before the International break. But that’s exactly what they did as they stumbled out the blocks from the kick-off.
The only surprise was that it took United half an hour before realising they could have a go, opening the scoring with Sam Dalby’s header. Booed off at the break, Clement made changes as he hooked the awful Cyriel Dessers and Mohamed Diomande, replacing them with Ianis Hagi and Danilo.
And you have to wonder why the manager has been so reluctant to utilise the Romanian given the immediate injection of spark he gave a team badly missing creativity. It was the other sub who helped work the equaliser as Danilo teed up the impressive Cerny to score.
But the fact is that this is yet another performance that raises doubts over Clement’s future as manager. The Union Bears chanted “It’s in the wrong hands” as the second half got underway. Whether it was the manager or the board they were referring to, there’s not many of the Gers fans who booed their team off at the end of both halves that will argue.
The James Tavernier issues
It’s becoming less and less of a surprise to see James Tavernier’s name missing from a Rangers starting line-up. Dropped for games against St Mirren and Olyimpiacos already this term, the right-back was benched again as United visited Govan.
Perhaps it makes sense to give a player who is now 33 some extra time off considering Nana Kasanwirjo’s potentially season-ending knee injury means the skipper might have to play a bugger role than Clement was planning on in the second half of the season.
But it still feels hard to ignore the suspicion that this is the beginning of the end for the Englishman. Clement has already said he’ll need to look for a replacement for Kasanwirjo in January and that might yet more time on the bench for Tavernier.
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